Rockestra Review
Rockestra
Reviewed by Jayne Wiggins
Being the first product we have reviewed, I was hopeful that this first item would be useful and well received. As a child minder of up to 27 children in the average week, ranging from 18 months to 13 years, I knew that any toy coming through the door would be put through its paces! It didn’t take long for this toy to be shown how to live in this setting!
I was very pleasantly surprised when I opened the delivery box to find the product packaging. There was no unnecessary packaging, basic recycled card surrounded the toy which would be more than adequate on the shelves of a toy shop. The packaging was basic in colour – designed NOT to attract a child’s eye to fancy packaging, rather to the product within. Very few plastic components in the packaging made it more environmentally friendly than many other toys I have bought, and the simple tape made it one of the easiest toys to open. This would be welcome in our home on Christmas Day as children would be able to remove the packaging on this toy to be able to play immediately.
The item itself certainly is living up to expectations! Rockestra comes with 7 instruments and 15 songs that can be played in a staggering amount of combinations. It’s easy to use, easy to follow instructions and lots of fun for children of all ages! Designed for 3+ (although I did have an 18 month old spend time supervised and thoroughly enjoying making her own music). I found the three year olds did as they often do, and found something they like the sound of and tried to repeat it over and over again, my mind was saved from this by the amount of different songs the toy actually plays. The amount of instrument combinations means I have not heard the same tune twice today – despite taking delivery just after lunch!
As a learning tool it is exceptional for the early years, the basic colour of the main toy allows the simple colours of each instrument and microphone component, to be seen and appreciated. Today we have learned about colours as well as understanding that different things can make different music.
One of the older children asked if there was the possibility of new instruments being added to the collection to be bought at a later stage. Another asked if the replay button could be designed to play the tune using the instruments the child had just composed with. I would ask, without making it too complicated – as it is the simplicity of this toy I love – could there be a drawer built into future models to store the instruments.
Overall, with a retail value of £59.99 I would recommend this toy as a definite addition to any pre-school or early years setting and a very special gift for a special child. It might out price many grandparents and I would have been happier to see up to £40 for this product. On that alone I give this a 4/5 overall rating for domestic use but would definitely give it a 5/5 for educational settings.
Rating: 4/5
RRP: £59.99
Available to buy from Amazon here.
